The Future of the Russian Catholic Church

AsiaNews ^ | 11/22/21 | Stefano Caprio

[marshmallow]

The former secretary of the Bishops' Conference, Msgr. Igor Kovalevskij, has left the ecclesiastical service in disagreement with his superiors and confreres. The debate hinges on the fate of the buildings associated with the Moscow church of Saints Peter and Paul. The need to develop a "healthy Russian Catholic patriotism".

Rome (AsiaNews) - The resignation of the secretary of the Bishops' Conference Msgr. Igor Kovalevskij, has sparked commotion among Catholics in Moscow and elsewhere, following his stepping down from from his ecclesiastical post in protest with his superiors and confreres. His priestly ministry coincided with the thirty years of the "religious renaissance" of post-Soviet Russia; the questions he raises are not only about personal disagreements, but also about some important dimensions of the Church's mission in general.

On November 19, Msgr. Kovalevsky explained his decision in a long interview with the portal Credo.ru, an important source of information on religious life in Russia. As a predecessor of Kovalevsky (I was pro-secretary of the Russian Episcopal Conference at the time of its establishment), I think it is important to adress some of the issues his raises, not to fuel a controversy, but to accept the appeal of a brother and a friend, and for the good of the whole community.

I do not intend to comment on the issue that provoked the choice of abandonment: the fate of the buildings linked to the Moscow church of Saints Peter and Paul, which the Curia intends to use to guarantee findancila income, rather than restore it to worship and pastoral activities. As Msgr. Kovalevsky says, "one learns that the devil exists precisely in the experience of service," where one is called to make decisions for the good of the Church, and human temptations and weaknesses inevitably manifest themselves.

It is evident, also because......

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

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[CatHerd]

Thank you for posting. Bookmarking.

[rexthecat]

Catholic - Orthodox. There is no difference.

[steve86]

There are a number of us here who would be willing to educate you out of your ignorance. Please avail yourself of this most generous offer.

[Wallace T.]

While the doctrinal differences between Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy are far fewer than between these two groups and Protestantism, there have been centuries of conflict, from the Crusaders sacking Constantinople in 1204 to the Yugoslav conflicts of the 1940s and 1990s. The Russian Orthodox Church was the state church of Tsarist Russia, and while Catholic and Protestant worship was tolerated in areas where the local population adhered to the Western churches, proselytization was discouraged. During World War II, Stalin recognized that the support of persecuted religious believers was necessary to gaining support for resistance to the Nazis. Therefore, the Russian Orthodox Church was partially rehabilitated. Since Orthodoxy is tied to Russian nationalism, some Russians may perceive believers in the Western churches to be less than fully Russian.